12 Best Burgers in Medellín: The Best Burger Places in Town

During my time living in Medellín for over seven years I have experienced the best burgers in the city that are found in several different restaurants. So, I decided to pick the top 12 places in Medellín with the best burgers. I found several of these from recommendations from other expats living in the city.

Forget the fast food burgers at McDonalds’, Burger King or El Corral chains. Medellín has many other places with great burgers.

An article on this website back in 2013 chose the top five places with the best burgers. But in my opinion that article is out-of-date and missing many of the best burgers places in Medellín. Only one of the places in that old article I included in my list of the top 12 burger places, as there now are many newer places with better burgers, in my opinion.

It’s difficult for me to rank these top 12 best burgers places, as several are very good making it difficult to choose between them. And everyone’s tastes are different and everyone has different criteria so a ranking is subjective. So, I decided not to try to rank them. I ordered these in terms of the number of locations each has.

In addition, I decided to only include true hamburgers – only “beef” burgers. In this best burgers list, there are no veggie burgers, no chicken burgers and no other types of meat burgers. But of course, beef burgers with other meat additions like bacon are OK in this list.

Here is my list of the 12 best burgers places in Medellín (in order by count of locations and then alphabetical):

Chef Burger’s Royale burger

1. Chef Burger

Chef Burger is a popular chain of gourmet burger restaurants and they even use the slogan “The Best Burger in Town”. They serve American style burgers that are really good.

Chef Burger has 12 different burgers on its menu. Prices range from 17,900 to 20,900 pesos. A side of French fries cost 4,500 pesos. They also have a couple of salad options.

American – 150 grams of beef cooked to order with cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and onion rings.

Chef Burger launched in August 2011 with its first restaurant in El Poblado. Chef Burger has been so successful it now has seven restaurants in Medellín plus one in Bogotá and one in Cali. Here’s the seven locations in Medellín:

El Poblado: Calle 3 # 43 – 37

El Poblado: Calle 11 A # 42 – 05

El Poblado: Centro Comercial El Tesoro, Local 1545

Envigado: Carrera 48 # 26 Sur 87

Laureles: Circular 76 # 39 -07

Sabaneta: Centro Comercial Mayorca, Local 5037

Belén: Centro Comercial Los Molinos, Local 3051

Barbacoa’s house burger

2. Barbacoa Burger & Beer

Barbacoa is another chain of gourmet burger restaurants in Medellín that has some tasty American-style burgers. Barbacoa has over 10 different beef burgers on the menu. Prices range from 16,900 pesos to 25,900 pesos. You can make it a combo for an additional 5,000 pesos with fries and a soda.

House burger – 150 grams (or 250 grams) of beef cooked to order with American cheese, bacon, onions, tomatoes and lettuce.

In addition to burgers, Barbacoa has ribs and salads.

Barbacoa currently has four restaurants in Medellín:

El Poblado: Carrera 43A # 1 Sur 150, Local 138 in La Strada

El Poblado: Carrera 43 E # 11A-21

Envigado: Carrera 44A # 30 Sur-23

Laureles: Avenida 74B # 39B-29

Federal Ribs’ Riburger

3. Federal Ribs

Federal Ribs is a restaurant chain that specializes in BBQ ribs. I have eaten there many times but always wondered why I saw many customers eating a burger at a ribs restaurant.

I finally tried the Riburger at Federal Ribs and understand why so many customers order this. Federal Ribs only has one burger on the menu and it’s a great burger. The Riburger comes with 200 grams of beef cooked to order with rib meat, bacon, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and lettuce.

The Riburger costs 27,900 pesos and it comes with your choice of two sides. Sides options include coleslaw, corn on the cob, caramelized red onions, green salad, chili, French fries, and several other potato options

Federal Ribs currently has four locations in the city:

El Poblado: Carrera 35 #10B-17

Envigado: Calle 30 Sur #44A-07

Laureles: Circular 75 # 39B-21

Sabaneta: Centro Comercial Mayorca, Local 5051

Juicy Lucy burger

4. Juicy Lucy

Juicy Lucy is another chain of burger restaurants in Medellín with good burgers. They have 14 different burgers on the menu ranging in price from 17,900 to 24,900 pesos. The price includes a side of French fries, onion rings or fried yucca. Two of my favorite burgers at Juicy Lucy are:

The first Juicy Lucy opened in El Poblado in 2012. Juicy Lucy now has three locations in Medellín:

El Poblado: Carrera 37 # 8A-32

El Poblado: Calle 24 # 48-28 in Mercado del Rio

Envigado: Plaza Pakita

Burger at Fellini, photo courtesy of Fellini

5. Fellini Hamburguesas Gourmet

Fellini is another restaurant in Medellín specializing in gourmet burgers. It has over 20 different hamburgers on its menu so it wins the prize for the biggest selection of burgers.

Fellini’s burgers range in price from 15,100 to 31,900 pesos. And the price includes fries and homemade sauces. In addition to burgers, Fellini has steaks, chicken, pasta, soups and salads.

Fellini traces its roots back to 1987. And it rebranded to its current name of Fellini in 2011. It currently has two locations in Medellín:

El Poblado: Carrera 37 # 10B-04

El Centro: Plaza Mayor Convention Center

Grill Station custom burger

6. Grill Station Burger

Grill Station Burger is a gourmet burger restaurant that opened in 2012. Grill Station reportedly only uses Brangus beef in its hamburgers. At Grill Station, you can “build” your own custom burger by choosing the ingredients:

The price for your custom burger at Grill Station depends on how many ingredients. The last time I ate at Grill Station my custom burger with fries cost 22,300 pesos.

In addition to custom burgers, Grill Station also has 18 different beef burgers on the menu. These range in price from 14,000 to 24,900 pesos.

Grill Station has two locations (thanks to a reader for providing the address of the second location that isn’t on the company’s website):

El Poblado: Calle 53 #73-22.

Laureles: near Laureles Parque Segundo at Cicular 76 #73B-176.

Medellin Burger Company’s American burger

7. Medellín Burger Company

Medellín Burger Company (MBC) is yet another burger restaurant in Medellín with good American-style burgers. It has nine different beef burgers on the menu that range in price from 19,900 to 23,000 pesos. In addition, the burgers are available in a combo for an additional 5,500 pesos with French fries and a soda. Two of my favorite burgers at MBC are:

American burger – beef cooked to order with bacon, caramelized onions, mix of cheddar and mozzarella cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

In addition to burgers, MBC also has steaks, ribs, chicken wings and sandwiches.

MBC opened its first restaurant in Laureles in 2014. And it now has two locations in Medellín:

Laureles: La 70 Circular 4 # 12

Envigado: Carrera 44A #31 Sur 18

The Burger World burger at Burger World, photo courtesy of Burger World

8. Burger World

Burger World is a small neighborhood burger restaurant that opened in 2014 with some good burgers. It is located in El Poblado and is near Parque Lleras. It has 13 different beef burgers on the menu that are priced from 12,900 to 19,500 pesos. They have a country theme with several burgers named for countries. And for an extra 5,000 pesos you can add fries and a soda.

USA – 150 grams of beef cooked to order with bacon, American cheese, cheddar cheese sauce, pickles, lettuce and tomatoes.

Burger World only has a single location: El Poblado: Carrera 37 # 10A-64

Burger at Jack & Roll, photo courtesy of Jack & Roll

9. Jack & Roll

Jack & Roll is a small neighborhood restaurant in Envigado on Calle de la Buena Mesa. It has some great burgers in my experience. They have seven beef burgers on the menu, priced at 21,000 to 24,000 pesos. That price includes French fries, rustic fries, onion rings or vegetables.

Two of my favorite burgers at Jack & Roll are:

Jack BBQ – 180 grams of beef caramelized in Jack BBQ sauce cooked to order with a touch of Jack Daniel’s, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, onion rings, lettuce and tomatoes.

10. Monsieur Burger

I went to lunch to Monsieur Burger not too long ago with an expat who recommended it due to having good burgers. At Monsieur Burger, all the burgers are made to order and you build the burger by phase.

Monsieur Burger only has a single location: El Poblado: Calle 8 # 43A-89.

Patrick’s Irish Pub’s Shamrock burger

11. Patrick’s Irish Pub

Patrick’s Irish Pub is a popular bar in Parque Lleras with some great burgers. They have six different beef burgers on the menu and I have eaten their burgers several times that are very good. The burgers cost from 28,000 to 40,000 pesos. All the hamburgers at Patrick’s come with fries. Or the option of onion rings for 3,000 pesos extra.

Western BBQ – beef cooked to order with bacon, cheddar cheese, onion rings and BBQ sauce.

Patrick’s has a big menu that also includes wings, Irish food, pizzas, soups and salads. They also have a huge drink menu with one of the largest varieties in the city of imported beers, whiskeys and many other drinks.

12. Tasty’s

A friend living in Belén took me to Tasty’s a few months ago and I’m glad he did. Tasty’s is a small neighborhood burger place in Belén with good burgers for a good price.

Tasty’s has a simple menu. The burgers at Tasty’s cost 9,500 pesos or 13,000 pesos with double meat. The burgers all come with lettuce, tomatoes and onions. It’s an extra 2,000 pesos for cheese and an extra 2,000 pesos for bacon. And French fries cost 4,000 pesos. Tasty’s fries with bacon, cheddar cheese and ranch dressing cost 6,500 pesos.

Tasty’s only has a single location: Belén: Carrera 70 # 32-82.

Burger Master Promotion – Today is Last Day

There are currently 30 restaurants in Medellín participating in a Burger Master promotion sponsored by the Tulio mobile app. This is trying to identify the “best burgers” in Medellín based on reviews.

With this promotion, you can buy a “promotion” burger at participating restaurants for only 10,000 pesos ($3.40). And some restaurants are offering combos with the “promotion” burger, fries and a beer for 15,000 pesos ($5.09).

The first seven days of the promotion, the 30 restaurants participating reportedly sold over 100,000 hamburgers. During the promotion, some of the restaurants are only offering their “promotion” burger. And I have seen lines to get into several of the restaurants. For example, last night I saw a line of over 70 waiting to get into Jack & Roll in Envigado.

The promotion runs from June 5 to June 16, so today is the last day. Several of the burger places listed in the list above are participating in this promotion including Barbacoa, Burger World, Jack & Roll, Juicy Lucy, Monsieur Burger and Tasty’s.

But some of the best burgers places in the city aren’t participating in this Burger Master promotion. I suspect this is because they didn’t want to participate at the low 10,000-peso price. So, the results should be questioned. In addition, I haven’t been to all 30 restaurants participating in this Burger Master promotion. So, it’s possible that one or more should be included in my above list.

The Bottom Line – Best Burgers in Medellín

There are over 40 different restaurants offering burgers in Medellín that are typically better than the burgers found at the fast food places. I have been to well over 20 of them over the past several years and chose 12 of my favorites in the above list. These include several gourmet burger chains specializing in burgers, several small local burger restaurants, an Irish pub with good burgers and even a rib chain that has an excellent burger.

The bottom line is that Medellín has many places with good burgers.

Please let us know if you know of any places missing from this list with good burgers. We are happy to try them and update the list.

Jeff first discovered Colombia back in 2006 and has traveled to all the major cities in Colombia. He is fortunate to have lived over seven years in Medellín. He is also studying Spanish to become fluent.

20 COMMENTS

For a change of pace, I like the Venezuelan hamburger. It includes ham (in addition to the beef patty), bacon, potato sticks, and sometimes even an egg.

Los Chamos in Laureles, which I reviewed a few months ago (http://medellinliving.com/los-chamos-venezuelan-arepa/ ), offers the Venezuelan burger on their menu. It can also be found at some other local Venezuelan restaurants, such as Pollos El Rey in Laureles (Calle 42 #70-42).

+1 for Chef Burger. When I lived in Medellin, I ate there whenever I wanted a good burger. The problem I had with Chef Burger and the overall burger scene in Medellin, was the fact that the burgers didn’t have that sloppy, greasy, fattiness to them. You know, when you bite into a burger, and all of those salty, greasy, rich flavors come together while squirting juice onto your tray? That experience is what sets a good burger apart from an amazing burger. All the burgers I tried in Medellin never had that “holy crap that’s a good burger” feeling to them. If you make it to Bogota, then try Home Burger. It’s a growing chain that slangs the only burgers I’ve had in Colombia that can compete with the better burger places in the US (5 guys, Shake Shack, Smashburger, etc).

Couldnt agree more about the sloppy, greasy, fattiness. Twice i have been fooled by the big queues for chef burger and juicy lucy thinking ‘this is gonna be the one’, but it never is. They are good burgers for sure but none have been special.

Insanely high prices? There is a range of prices. Chef Burger starts $6, Barbacoa starts at $5.70 for gourmet burgers. Tasty’s starts at $3.19 and Burger World prices start at $4.34. In several of these places you can get a burger, drink and fries for less than $7 or $8.

This is a nice round up of the burger scene. Sooner or later I’ll stop in for one but one bit of thinking has been holding me back. I haven’t been able to shake the fact that some of the better burgers are closing in on COP 30,000 and for exactly that price including tip I can eat a beautiful 1/2 portion (but still large) “Baby” steak at La Pampa, the local Argie chain. Salad bar included, spuds included including baked potato, and a double portion of home made chimichurri sauce. The beef is a higher quality than typical burger beef and usually disappears off the plate without a trace.

Thanks for this list of the best burgers in Medellin. It should help many people. A friend lives in Belen and didn’t know about Tasty’s. We went to Tasty’s last night and the burgers were great and pretty inexpensive and good fries also. Thanks again for a great list!

Hello. Thanks for the list. I like most of them. You have to try the Big Fat Horny Burger at Horny American Restaurant. It is a very good burger too.

About Tulio’s event, you are right. There are many places missing. And it is not because of the low selling price. It is because it was a marketing strategy. They had to pay a big fee in order to participate. So the quality was not the main subject. Many of them were losing money, but people where going to try their burgers. That was the whole point.